Oklahoma – Where the wind… part 1

It’s strange what people think about when you tell them you’re from Oklahoma. For some reason, when we tell Brits that we’re from Oklahoma, they usually make one of two possible associations. The first possible association is something that’s very mysterious to Brits: the tornado… and, in particular, the movie Twister is their primary source of information about and fascination with Oklahoma weather. Another possible association is the song Oklahoma from the musical by the same name (actually, the name of the musical ends with an exclamation point, Oklahoma!, which makes it awesome). The strange thing about the latter, however, is not that our state is most readily identified as a Rogers and Hammerstein musical, rather, it’s how often I’ve had the following conversation:

“Oh, you’re going home this summer? Where are you from, Collin?”
“Well I’m glad you asked, strange person. I’m from Oklahoma!”
“Really?! Like the musical?”
“Yes, like the musical.”
And then it happens… they start singing… “Ooooooklahoma where the wind…” and that’s about as far as most of them remember, so they start making the rest of it up… so far, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard about a hundred variations on the first line, including the following:
“Oklahoma, where the wind sweeps <something something> rain”
“Oklahoma, where the wind goes whistling down the street”
And my favorite, “Oklahoma, where the rain comes running down the road” (thanks for that one, Abby)

So, with that preface, let us begin the recap of our trip to Oklahoma. When we returned from our epic UK Road-trip Extravaganza 2010, we had one day in Cambridge before heading to DFW. We packed feverishly, and I remember thinking to myself that I probably wouldn’t need to take anything long sleeved because it would be so hot…

Let me make a few comments about the heat, and then I’ll be done. It’s so freakin’ hot! In my head, I could remember that OK summers are hot, and I tried to prepare myself for the heat, I even said to myself that I was ready for the heat, that I missed it… that I wanted to step off the plane and not be able to breathe because it was so hot. Imagine living in a place for a year and rarely even getting to 70°… now imagine what the heat index on 95° feels like! Let’s just say it doesn’t matter how your mind remembers it, your body never gets used to it. Okay, I’m done complaining now.

Chris, Rebekah, and Gracie picked us up at the airport… it was good to see Gracie :)

Gracie had learned so much since we had last seen her, and she really wanted to drive us home… (as if I need to say it: not really)

She got a little bit gangsta, and started saying something about the pow-lice tryin’ to catch her ridin’ dirty.

Chris reminded her that she always needed to watch the road when driving…

When we got to the house, Chris and I went outside to take care of a wasp problem that they’ve had around the house… equipped with a can of 20 ft. jet spray wasp killer, Chris prepared for the slaughter…

Then Chris and I got a little sidetracked on our way to kill the wasps…

Awww… I love my brother :).

Here’s a little video of Gracie while Chris was still out dealing with the wasps. Enjoy!